Montgomery County Sheriff: Two teens charged in Amsterdam High threat

AMSTERDAM - Two teenagers have been charged in connection with Tuesday morning's threat at Amsterdam High School, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said.

The teens, age 16 and 17, were each charged with making a terroristic threat, officials said. They were not identified due to their ages.

The threat originated on the social media platform Snapchat and concerned a threat of a shooting at the school dated for Tuesday, the sheriff's office said. Word of the threat came in to the sheriff's school resource officer at about 8:15 a.m., officials said.

"The school was immediately put in a lockout, not a lockdown for safety purposes and additional units were sent to start the investigation," the sheriff's office wrote. "The Amsterdam Police and the New York State Police were advised and assisted throughout."

"There was never any immediate threats to any staff, students or surrounding buildings/communities," the sheriff's office added.

The district announced the lockout due to a "possible threat" in an 8:30 a.m. message to parents and on its website Tuesday morning.

The lockout meant classes continued as normal, but any visitors to campus would have their IDs checked and be escorted, the posting read.

"We want to thank the Amsterdam School District, its staff, its students, parents, the community and our law enforcement partners for the cooperation during this event," the sheriff's office wrote.

Tuesday happened to be the first day of new rules governing 17-year-olds charged with felonies in New York State, where the individuals are no longer automatically charged as adults.

Prior to Tuesday, such cases were handled in open adult court. A similar change for 16-year-olds took effect Oct. 1, 2018.

Both teens were charged in Youth Part Court, arraigned by Judge Philip V. Cortese and released to the custody of their parents. They are to re-appear later.